What next? Virginia redistricting still faces lawsuits

RICHMOND – While Virginia's off-year congressional redistricting referendum passed Tuesday, pending lawsuits against the constitutional amendment are lined up for state Supreme Court review before midterm election maps are drawn.Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger made the rounds of television news programs Wednesday, saying the redistricting decision was made by voters and not the legislature."Virginia voters have spoken, and tonight they approved a temporary measure to push back against a President who claims he is 'entitled' to more Republican seats in Congress," Spanberger said in a Tuesday night statement. "Virginians watched other states go along with those demands without voter input — and we refused to let that stand. We responded the right way: at the ballot box."According to unofficial tallies Wednesday, 1.575 million voters – 51.45% of the statewide turnout – approved the 2026 redistricting ahead of the November congressional midterms against 1.486 million voting no. As of Wednesday, Tuesday's result means that 10 of Virginia's 11 congressional districts will be redrawn to favor Democratic candidates. Even before the Supreme Court cycle, Tazewell County Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley, Jr. re-entered the legal fray over redistricting Wednesday with an order blocking implementation of redistricting. Hurley in late 2025 ruled in favor of a suit by state Del. Terry Kilgore., R-45th, state Del. Ryan McDougle, R-4th, and Sen. William Stanley Jr., R-7th. The three legislators claimed that the General Assembly approved the constitutional amendment for public vote during the October 2025 special session but not before the next subsequent November election. McDougle is the legislative commissioner for the state's Redistricting Commission.Hurley agreed with the legislators' view that, while the November 2025 Election Day had not then occurred, early voting had started in September. That, Hurley ruled, meant the November election had actually started before approval of the amendment for public vote. Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones said Wednesday that he will appeal Hurley's order. The Times News reached out to Kilgore Wednesday.Obama administration attorney general Eric Holder, who chaired the National Democratic Redistricting Committee in reaction to Donald Trump's call for Republican-dominated states' redistricting, called red-state redistricting in in Texas, Missouri and North Carolina "Republicans' egregious power grabs.""They showed up, stood up, and proved that even in the face of an unprecedented effort to undermine our country's democracy, voters will have the final say," Holder said Tuesday after unofficial Virginia results. "The mere existence of this special election stands in stark contrast to the gerrymanders forced on constituents in Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina and shows that voters are tired of Republican attempts to silence their power at the voting booth … they have stopped Donald Trump's attempt to steal the 2026 midterms in its tracks and defended the principle that elections should be fair, competitive, and decided by the people."UVA Wise political science professor Heather Evans said Wednesday that the reality of Tuesday's vote is more complex than Democratic domination of the state's 11 congressional districts in November.Two anti-referendum lawsuits - one including Hurley's new order - put on hold during the referendum's early voting period left the Virginia Department of Elections legally unable to offer guidance to local registrars during the referendum's early days. That restriction was lifted, but the suits are pending.The suits are not questioning the right to voters to decide on the redistricting question, Evans said, but a technicality in how the referendum was set up for April's vote."The appeals are going to be heard by the state Supreme Court on April 27," said Evans, "and it's going to be about the process, not the gerrymandering."Statewide turnout for the referendum was lower than for the 2024 presidential and 2025 gubernatorial election, in which Spanberger defeated Republican Winsome Earle Sears – approximately 4.5 million in 2024, 3.5 million in 2025 and 3 million Tuesday.Looking at two numbers – Sears' statewide vote tallies and Tuesday's no votes – Evans said the referendum inspired more voters than did having a Republican successor to former governor Glenn Youngkin."Sears got 1.44 million votes, but 1.48 million voted no Tuesday," said Evans. "Either the party did a better job of getting out the vote this time, or something else happened."In far Southwest Virginia, the pattern of higher voter turnout for the referendum over the governor's race repeated in many localities, Evans added. In Russell County, 7,872 voted in the referendum and 7,265 voted in the governor's race. In Scott County, 47% of voters voted Tuesday against 45% in the gubernatorial contest. Even when turnout was lower Tuesday than in November 2025, it was close to last year's levels, Evans said. Wise County saw 39% turnout Tuesday compared to 43% in November. In Washington County, it was 50% turnout on Tuesday versus 52% for the gubernatorial race."Out here in Southwest Virginia, the campaigning for the referendum was pretty intense," said Evans. "The mailers were a bit strange too, with Democrats being quoted in some anti-referendum pieces and Republicans in some pro-redistricting mailers. On social media, there were a lot of comments on frustration with the General Assembly."Evans cautioned against too much Democratic confidence in the referendum."I would tell the party to consider that there was a bit of drop in the yes vote – 1.57 million Tuesday against Spanberger's 1.97 million votes in November," Evans said, "and the cases are still coming before the Supreme Court."